Contrasting Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) and Metallus (NYSE:MTUS)

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) and Metallus (NYSE:MTUS) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, valuation, analyst recommendations, risk, earnings and profitability.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Steel Dynamics and Metallus’ revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Steel Dynamics	$18.80 billion	1.07	$2.45 billion	$14.56	8.80
Metallus	$1.36 billion	0.67	$69.40 million	$1.68	12.46

Steel Dynamics has higher revenue and earnings than Metallus. Steel Dynamics is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Metallus, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Steel Dynamics and Metallus’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Steel Dynamics	12.89%	27.62%	16.14%
Metallus	5.81%	13.06%	8.19%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings for Steel Dynamics and Metallus, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Steel Dynamics	1	5	1	0	2.00
Metallus	0	0	0	0	N/A

Steel Dynamics presently has a consensus target price of $127.43, suggesting a potential downside of 0.59%. Given Steel Dynamics’ higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Steel Dynamics is more favorable than Metallus.

Risk & Volatility

Steel Dynamics has a beta of 1.4, meaning that its share price is 40% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Metallus has a beta of 1.47, meaning that its share price is 47% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

82.4% of Steel Dynamics shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 77.6% of Metallus shares are owned by institutional investors. 6.0% of Steel Dynamics shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.7% of Metallus shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Steel Dynamics beats Metallus on 11 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Steel Dynamics

Steel Dynamics, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a steel producer and metal recycler in the United States. The Steel Operations segment offers hot rolled, cold rolled, and coated steel products; parallel flange beams and channel sections, flat bars, large unequal leg angles, and reinforcing steel bars, as well as standard strength carbon, intermediate alloy hardness, and premium grade rail products; engineered special-bar-quality products, merchant-bar-quality products, and other engineered round steel bars; channels, angles, flats, merchant rounds, and reinforcing steel bars; and specialty shapes and light structural steel products. This segment also engages in turning, polishing, straightening, chamfering, precision saw-cutting, and heat treating of bar products. Its products are used in construction, automotive, manufacturing, transportation, heavy and agriculture equipment, and pipe and tube markets. The Metals Recycling Operations segment is involved in the ferrous and nonferrous scrap metal processing, transportation, marketing, brokerage, and scrap management services. Its ferrous products include heavy melting steel, busheling, bundled scrap, shredded scrap, steel turnings, and cast-iron products; and nonferrous products comprise aluminum, brass, copper, stainless steel, and other nonferrous metals. The Steel Fabrication Operations segment produces steel non-residential building components, such as steel joists, girders, trusses, and steel deck products for non-residential steel fabricators, metal building companies, general construction contractors, developers, owners, brokers, and governmental entities, as well as e-commerce warehouses, data centers, metal buildings, and education and commercial building projects. The Aluminum Operations segment offers recycled aluminum flat rolled products. The company also exports its products. Steel Dynamics, Inc. was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

About Metallus

Metallus Inc. manufactures and sells alloy steel, and carbon and micro-alloy steel products in the United States and internationally. The company offers special bar quality (SBQ) bars, seamless mechanical tubes, precision steel components, and billets that are used in gears, hubs, axles, crankshafts and motor shafts, oil country drill pipes, bits and collars, bearing races and rolling elements, bushings, fuel injectors, wind energy shafts, anti-friction bearings, artillery and mortar bodies, and other applications. It also provides custom-make precision steel components. It offers its products and services to the automotive, energy, industrial equipment, mining, construction, rail, aerospace and defense, heavy truck, agriculture, and power generation sectors. The company was formerly known as TimkenSteel Corporation and changed its name to Metallus Inc. in February 2024. Metallus Inc. was founded in 1899 and is headquartered in Canton, Ohio.